Proverbs 1:7

Proverbs 1:7 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
• New International Version (NIV)The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
• English Standard Version (ESV)The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.
• New King James Version (NKJV)The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, But fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Context of Proverbs 1:7

5Wise people should also listen carefully, so that they learn something new. And people with clever minds can learn to live in a good way. 6People will learn to understand what proverbs and picture stories mean. They will understand the teaching and clever messages of wise people. If you want to know how to live in a good way, you must first learn to respect the Lord with fear. Fools refuse to listen to wise teaching. 8Listen, my child, when your father shows you what is right. And do not forget what your mother has taught you. 9Their teaching will bring you honour, like a beautiful crown or a valuable necklace.

Proverbs 1:7 word by word

יִרְאַ֣ת יְ֭הוָה רֵאשִׁ֣ית דָּ֑עַת חָכְמָ֥ה וּ֝מוּסָ֗ר אֱוִילִ֥ים בָּֽזוּ׃ פRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• The fearיִרְאָהyir'âh · fearH3374
• of the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• the beginningרֵאשִׁיתrê'shîyth · first: beginningH7225
• of knowledgeדַּ֫עַתda‛ath · knowledgeH1847
• foolsאֱוִיל'ĕvîyl · fool(ish)H191
• despiseבּוּזbûz · to despiseH936
• wisdomחׇכְמָהchokmâh · wisdomH2451
• and instructionמוּסָרmûsâr · discipline: instructionH4148

Cross-references for Proverbs 1:7

• Proverbs 9:10If you want to be wise in the way that you live, first you must respect the Lord with fear. If you know God, the Holy One, you will understand what is right.
• Job 28:28God said this to us humans: “If you want to be wise, learn to respect the Lord with fear. If you want to understand things properly, turn away from evil acts.” ’
• Psalms 111:10If you want to live in a wise way, respect and obey the Lord. Everyone who lives in the way that he teaches will understand what is right. People should praise the Lord for ever!
• Psalms 112:1Hallelujah! Praise the Lord! When someone respects the Lord with fear, God has blessed that person! He is happy to obey the Lord's commands.
• Ecclesiastes 12:13Now I have heard everything and this is what I have decided: Respect God and obey his commands. That is God's purpose for all people.
• Proverbs 1:22‘Listen to me! Will you silly people continue to be so silly? You people who laugh at God, will you always be like that? Will fools always refuse to learn anything?
• Proverbs 5:12You will say, ‘I should have listened when people warned me that I was doing bad things.
• Proverbs 15:5A fool hates his father's rules. But a wise child learns when his father warns him.
• Proverbs 18:2A fool does not try to understand what is right. He only likes to tell people his own ideas.
• John 3:18God will not punish anyone who believes in his Son. But if people refuse to believe in the Son, God has already decided that he must punish them. They have not believed in God's one and only Son.
• Romans 1:28Those people decided that they did not need to know anything about God. So God let their minds become spoiled. As a result, they do bad things that people ought not to do.

Commentaries on Proverbs 1:7

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 7The fear of the Lord - In the preceding verses Solomon shows the advantage of acting according to the dictates of wisdom; in the following verses he shows the danger of acting contrary to them. The fear of the Lord signifies that religious reverence which every intelligent being owes to his Creator; and is often used to express the whole of religion, as we have frequently had occasion to remark in different places. But what is religion? The love of God…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 7The beginning of wisdom is found in the temper of reverence and awe. The fear of the finite in the presence of the Infinite, of the sinful in the presence of the Holy (compare Job 42:5-6), this for the Israelite was the starting-point of all true wisdom. In the Book of Job 28:28 it appears as an oracle accompanied by the noblest poetry. In Psalm 111:10 it comes as the choral close of a temple hymn. Here it is the watchword of a true ethical education…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 7-9Verses 7-9 Fools are persons who have no true wisdom, who follow their own devices, without regard to reason, or reverence for God. Children are reasonable creatures, and when we tell them what they must do, we must tell them why. But they are corrupt and wilful, therefore with the instruction there is need of a law. Let Divine truths and commands be to us most honourable; let us value them, and then they shall be so to us.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 7Fear of the Lord means relying completely on God for everything, including knowledge and wisdom (Proverbs 9:10). It is not just a way of thinking; it involves serving, loving, and obeying God’s laws (see Deuteronomy 10:12–13). Fear of the Lord is the basis of all knowledge. How can we understand life without knowing its most basic truth—that God created it?Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 77. The fear of the Lord--the principle of true piety (compare Pr 2:5; 14:26, 27; Job 28:28; Psa 34:11; 111:10; Ac 9:31). beginning--first part, foundation. fools--the stupid and indifferent to God's character and government; hence the wicked.Read the comment

Topics related to Proverbs 1:7

• Blindness
• Fear of God
• Fool
• Knowledge
• Wisdom
• Young Men

In the dictionaries

• Call
• Consent
• Despise
• Entice
• Fear of the Lord the
• Hate
• Lurk
• Naught
• Prosperity
• Proverb

Commentaries on Proverbs 1

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings